Amateur Radio NewslineT Report 1899 - January 3, 2014
Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1899 with a release
date of January 3, 2014 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a Q-S-T. Ham radio assists a rescue at sea
off the coast of South Africa; Amateur Radio stands ready as
a winter storm hits Hawaii; IPAWS data storage may be headed
to the Cloud; Tokyo Hy-Power files for bankruptcy in Japan;
a winter DXpedition to Finland's far north is underway and a
ham radio astronaut takes the ultimate self portrait in
space. Find out who it was on the first Amateur Radio
NewslineT report of 2014 coming your way right now.
(Billboard Cart Here)
**
RESCUE RADIO: HAM RADIO CRUCIAL IN SEA RESCUE OFF THE SOUTH
AFRICAN COAST
Ham radio came to the aid of a stricken fishing boat off the
coast of South Africa after mechanical problems left it
floundering at sea. Amateur Radio Newsline's Bruce Tennant,
K6PZW has more:
--
Trevor Brinch, ZS1TR, of South Africa's HAMNET became the
main link in a sea rescue of that nations South West coast
on Sunday December 22nd. At 12:48 local time harbor
authorities at Struisbaai reported that they picked up a
Mayday on 29 MHz from the commercial fishing vessel
Maverick. They could not make any further contact with
Maverick and did not know its position. Information
obtained from talking to other boats that picked up the
distress call was that Maverick could have run out of fuel
and had been drifting for about five hours.
Two hours into the search several 29 MHz transmissions were
picked up from the Maverick but could not be deciphered.
That's where the assistance of ZS1TR was enlisted. Using
his amateur radio station and his experience in receiving
weak signals Brinch obtained the position of the stranded
vessel which he learned had drifted into shipping lanes.
After it was located by a South African rescue ship it was
found that the Maverick had experienced a complete failure
on one of its engines and subsequently did run out of fuel.
Te rescue vessel took the stranded Maverick in tow and after
a four hour operation they were safely back in Struisbaai
harbor.
Those involved in the rescue say that without the assistance
of Zed-S-1-T-R and HAMNET this operation would have extended
far into the night with search planes having had to be
launched. Thanks to ham radio, that was not necessary.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bruce Tennant, K6PZW,
reporting
--
HAMNET is the disaster communication division of the South
African Radio League. (SARL)
**
RESCUE RADIO: HAMS ASSIST NWS AS SEVERE WEATHER HITS HAWAII
A strong thunderstorm brought penny sized hail to parts of
the Big Island of Hawaii Sunday night, December 29th and
once again ham radio operators were there as severe weather
spotters.
The National Weather Service said the storm hit the island
state shortly before 11 p.m. local time with forecasters
saying that wind gusts to 30 miles per hour and intense
lightning were expected. A flash flood warning being issued
for the Big Island until 6:30 a.m. the following morning.
As the severe weather approached, Todd Wilson, WH6DWF, of
Waikiki Beach began receiving reports from Glenn Kadota
AH6IO on the BIWARN repeater system of a freak electrical
storm affecting the windward side of the Big Island. Wilson
then relayed this information to the National Weather
Service office in Honolulu. As the storm progressed AH6IO
was reporting lightning strikes due north of his station
location.
A few hours later WH6WDF began receiving new severe weather
reports that he again forwarded to the National Weather
Service. Soon the reports were of downed trees, lightning
strikes, heavy rains and dime size hail. News reports
mentioned a sink hole that swallowed a full size pick-up
truck on a heavily traveled road. Fortunately, the truck's
driver emerged with only minor injuries. The storms
continued for about 12 hours as did the ham radio response.
Other hams involved in this severe weather alert included
Mark Foster, WH6IM, Scott Bosshardt KH7SB, Glen Kadota,
AH6IO, Robert Oliver NH6AH, Greg Datlof WH7FC and Bob
Schneider, AH6J, and several other radio amateurs. All in
all, another good job well done by the ham radio community
of Hawaii, when they were needed the most. (WH6DWF, KHON,
Honolulu Star Advertiser)
**
SHORTWAVE NEWS: VOICE OF RUSSIA TO REMAIN ON SHORTWAVE
The Voice of Russia formerly known as Radio Moscow is not
going QRT after all. A few weeks ago we reported on an all-
encompassing external media realignment edict that had been
issued by Russia's President Vladimir Putin. One that had
at least on the surface spelled an end to Russia's external
shortwave broadcast service.
But S-W-L blogger Tom Witherspoon, K4SWL, reports that he
was curious if this move might have changed so he contacted
the organization to see if it had any official word
regarding its future. To his delight Witherspoon received
the following response. We quote:
"We are glad to let you know that the Voice of Russia will
stay on the air in 2014, however, considerable changes in
our frequency schedule are expected. The information on the
updated frequency chart will become available on the Voice
of Russia's web site before the New Year
at voiceofrussia.com/radio_broadcast/frequencies, so please
stay logged in."
Obviously this will be a pleasant New Years gift to
Shortwave Listeners the world over. More is on Tom's SWLing
Post blog at tinyurl.com/Russia-shortwave-2014. (SWLing
Post Blog)
**
HAM RADIO IN SPACE: KF5LJG SHOOTS ULTIMATE SELF PORTRAIT
FROM EARTH ORBIT
NASA Astronaut Mike Hopkins, KF5LJG, has taken what might be
the ultimate self portrait from Earth orbit. This while on
a spacewalk outside the International Space Station on
Christmas Eve to help to change out a cooling pump module on
the exterior of the orbiting outpost.
The picture shows the space-suit clad Hopkins silhouetted
against a blue planet Earth with the International Space
Station reflected in his helmet faceplate. And if we may be
so bold, we predict could become a symbol of mans conquest
of the final frontier. You can see it for yourself at
tinyurl.com/hopkins-in-space. (mercurynews.com)
**
WORLDBEAT: JAPAN HAM RADIO POPULATION IN DECLINE
An interesting statistic courtesy of the Southgate News.
Quoting figures posted by Joe Speroni, AH0A's, website,
Southgate notes that Japan which at one time had more radio
amateurs than any other nation in the world has been loosing
them at what we might b call an alarming rate.
Since 1996 the hobby has been in sharp decline with the
number of J A amateur radio stations falling by over 65%.
Put into raw numbers, back in 1996 Japan has 1,350,127
license holders while in 2009 which is the latest year for
Speroni's statistics the number was down to 489,256.
It appears that 2001 was the biggest loss for ham radio in
Japan with 135,395 hams leaving the hobby. You can see the
numbers for yourself on the web at tinyurl.com/Japan-ham-
statistics. (Southgate, AH0A Statistics)
**
DX UP FRONT: ZD9KX OPERATION APPROVED FOR DXCC
In DX Up-Front, word that the ARRL's DXCC desk has confirmed
that the 2012 and 2103 ZD9KX operation Tristan Da Cunha and
Gough Islands has been approved for credit. If you filed a
prior request for this operation and had it rejected, please
contact Bill Moore, NC1L, via e-mail to bmoore (at) arrl
(dot) org to be placed on the list to have your DXCC record
updated. And we will have more DX related news later on in
this weeks report. (DXCC)
**
DX UP-FRONT: LOWBANDS AND WARC BANDS FROM NORTHERN EUROPE
Capitalizing on the current season of almost total darkness
in northern Europe, a sub-group of the Z81X and OF9X teams
are in the Aland Islands to activate OG0A on low bands and
WARC bands through January 13th. The OH0X contest site is
being used as the base camp with 160 Meter slopers and a 2
element 80 meter beam atop a 140 foot rotating tower. Main
activity will be on CW, but there may be some SSB and RTTY
used occasionally. QSL OG0A via OH2BH. And as a side note,
planners say that this operation is dedicated to the next
Youth on the Air summer camp due to be held in Finland next
July 15th through the 22nd. (Southgate)
**
BREAK 1
Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur
Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world
including the W6JW repeater serving the city of Santa
Clarita, California.
(5 sec pause here)
**
RESCUE RADIO: EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM MAY GO TO THE CLOUD
Federal emergency managers are considering replacing part of
its current Emergency Alert System with a commercial
alternative. This is because the data storage system has
not met the government's expectations. Amateur Radio
Newslines Stephan Kinford, N8WB, has the details:
--
According to contracting documents posted by the Federal
Emergency Management Agency on December 27th, it is now
looking for a commercially built data storage alternative
for its Integrated Public Alert and Warning System and Open
Platform for Emergency Networks or IPAWS-OPEN system. One
that will enable faster action and better communication
between federal, state and tribal officials and the public.
It also has to be a storage and retrieval system that uses
more advanced storage technology, including possibly placing
some portions of the system in the cloud.
For those who may have never heard the term, in its most
basic form the Cloud is a euphemism for off-site secure data
storage. This is a model of networked enterprise
storage where data is accumulated in virtualized pools which
are generally operated by third parties. These are mostly
hosting companies that operate large data centers. Their
customers are people or businesses that require their data
to be hosted off site so they simply buy or lease storage
capacity from them.
FEMA says that its custom-built IPAWS-OPEN has not met a
slate of minimum standards, such as operating with 99.9%
uptime and allowing the president and other officials to
alert the public about emergencies within 10 minutes.
Rather it has been dogged by glitches, too many layers of
technical bureaucracy and mainly insufficient storage space.
The current IPAWS-OPEN system transmits emergency messages
to citizens through numerous channels, including local alert
systems, traditional broadcast media, the Internet and
cellphones. It also needs to be quickly expandable to new
public communications systems and platforms as they are
created.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Stephen Kinford, N8WB,
in Wadsworth, Ohio.
--
The complete thirteen page document in PDF format can be
downloaded at tinyurl.com/fema-ipaws-rfi. Just click on the
link in the upper right corner of the page. (FEMA,
Mashable.com, nextgov.com)
**
RESCUE RADIO: MINORITY GROUPS PETITION FOR MULTI-LINGUAL
EMCOMM ALERTS
The Minority Media and Telecommunications Council and
several other such groups are pushing FCC chairman Thomas
Wheeler to act on an advisory committee recommendation. One
that tells the agency promptly resolve any financial and
technical hurdles to providing emergency alert warnings to
non-English speakers.
In a December 16th letter to Wheeler the groups note that
the advice for prompt action on this matter was given over
eight years ago following Hurricane Katrina. They point out
that six rounds of pleadings since that time have resulted
in no steps to ensure that multilingual emergency
communications will be available during and after major
emergencies.
This latest letter follows recent meetings between Minority
Media and Telecommunications Council executives and FCC
officials to make the same point face to face. (B&C)
**
RADIO BUSINESS: INNOVANTENNAS ACQUIRES FORCE 12
United Kingdom based InnovAntennas has acquired the Force
12 Antenna Company and product line and has moved the Force
12 production from Texas, to Grand Junction, Colorado. This
is a facility to be shared with InnovAntennas America.
InnovAntennas founder Justin Johnson, G0KSC, was in Colorado
late last year to assist in laying out and setting up the
factory. The company expects full production to be underway
sometime this month.
InnovAntennas says it plans to produce updated versions of
classic Force 12 antennas as well as all-new models.
Meantime InnovAntennas in the United Kingdom is now
manufacturing Force 12 products for the European market at
its Canvey Island plant. (InnovAntennas via Southgate)
**
HAM BUSINESS: TOKYO HY-POWER APPEARS OUT OF BUSINESS
RF amplifier manufacturer Tokyo Hy-Power formally known as
the Tokyo High Power Research Institute has filed for
bankruptcy. Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, is in the newsroom with
whats known so far:
--
At the outset, most of this information comes by way of a
posting on the Ham Radio Outlet website. It says that the
best it can determine is that the dissolution of Tokyo Hy-
Power appears to have occurred on or around December 25,
2013. Also that this action in Japan appears to be similar
to a Chapter 7 bankruptcy here in the United States, as the
process in this case appears to be the liquidation of
organizational assets in order to attempt to fund some
portion of its debt obligations. This in turn appears to
indicate that a court has deemed the Tokyo Hy-Power unable
to be effectively be reorganized under Japans Civil
Reconstruction Code.
Tokyo Hy-Power, formally known as the Tokyo High Power
Research Institute founded back in 1975. Since then it has
become an industry leader in military, medical, commercial
and amateur products.
Ham Radio Outlet notes that it has not been directly
contacted by Tokyo Hy-Power's home office in Japan
concerning any of the information provided on this report.
In fact, it learned of this very much like the general
public. It says that only after enlisting the assistance of
two separate Japanese translators has it been determined
that the reports of Tokyo Hy-Power bankruptcy appear to be
true.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF,
in Los Angeles.
--
No reason was given for the sudden demise of Tokyo Hy-Power.
Ham Radio Outlet customers are advised to see www (dot)
hamradio (dot) com/news.cfm for more details. Another view
of the story is on the ARRL newspages at www.arrl.org.
(HRO, ARRL, others)
**
RADIO HAPPENINGS: NAB SHOW TO PARTNER WITH DUBAI WORLD TRADE
CENTER ON CABSAT CONFERENCE
The NAB Show and the Dubai World Trade Center announced they
will partner to produce the 2014 CABSAT Conference.
Celebrating its 20th anniversary, CABSAT is the region's
leading annual event focusing on the broadcast, satellite
and broader media industry. The two-day conference, to be
held March 11th to the 12th at the Dubai World Trade Center,
attracts attendees from the Middle East, Africa and South
Asia who are actively engaged in the creation, management
and delivery of entertainment and news content. (NAB)
**
NAMES IN THE NEWS: YASME FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES 2013
EXCELLENCE AWARDS
The latest Yasme Excellence Award winners have been
announced. The 2013 recipients include Tom Roscoe, K8CX;
Lee Sawkins, VE7CC; John Devoldere, ON4UN: Michael Carroll,
N4MC; Eldon Lewis, K7LS; Dean Gibson, AE7Q; Joseph
Speroni, AH0A: Ken Claerbout, K4ZW and Ashraf Chaabane, 3V
stroke KF5EYY.
The Yasme Excellence Award is in the form of a cash grant
and an individually-engraved crystal globe. More
information on both the Yasme Foundation and its awards
program is on line t www dot yasme dot org. (YASME
Foundation)
**
NAMES IN THE NEWS: KIM OWENS NAMED NEW SBE EDUCATION
DIRECTOR
The Society of Broadcast Engineers' bimonthly newsletter,
The Signal, reports that Kim Owens has been named the
organization's education director. In her new position,
Owens will coordinate the society's education programming,
which ranges from webinars to workshops and the SBE
Technical Presenters Group. In fulfilling her duties, Owens
will regularly work with SBE Education Committee Chairman
Wayne Pecena, N1WP, and other committee members.
(RW)
**
SCIENCE CAREERS: NASA ANNOUNCES SUMMER 2014 INTERNSHIPS FOR
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
According to Dr. Ken Silberman, KB3LLA, NASA is looking to
increase the number of students with disabilities pursuing
science, technology, engineering, and math or STEM careers
through its internship programs.
Writing in the year end edition of the Handi Ham newsletter,
KB3LLA says that students can apply for summer 2014
internships immediately with the deadline for submitting
applications being Saturday, March 1st. The agency will
begin extending offers to students as early as Thursday,
January 16th. Those interested can apply at intern.nasa.gov
(Handi Ham Newsletter)
**
BREAK 2
This is ham radio news for today's radio amateur. We are
the Amateur Radio Newsline with links to the world from our
only official website at www.arnewsline.org and being
relayed by the volunteer services of the following radio
amateur:
(5 sec pause here)
**
EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: MORE ELECTRONICS BUT LOWER POWER USE
The average amount of electricity consumed in U.S. homes has
fallen to levels not seen in more than a decade. This is
likely due to the introduction of more energy efficient
appliances and other consumer electronics leading to overall
power usage being on track to decline by the end of 2013 for
the third year in a row.
According to the Energy Information Administration the end
of 2013 level expected is around 10,819 kilowatt-hours per
household. That is the lowest level since 2001, when
households averaged 10,535 kilowatt-hour.
And even more interesting is that this decline has occurred
even though we now use more electric and electronic devices
in our daily lives. You can read one of several in-depth
reports on this phenomenon at tinyurl.com/less-electric-use.
(Published news reports)
**
HAM HAPPENINGS: ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF LICENSED AMATEUR RADIO
IN QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA
Australia's Tablelands Radio and Electronics Club has been
issued the special event call sign VK4XQA. This to
celebrate the centenary of the first license issued in the
state of Queensland.
On February 7th 1914 Marcus J.G. Brims, who lived in the far
north town of Mareeba became the first licensed amateur
radio operator in the state when he was issued the call
letters XQA. At that time he was permitted 76 watts output
and limited to the 160 meter band. But his operating did
not last very long. A few months later on August 16th his
permit was revoked due to the outbreak of World War One and
his equipment was surrendered to the Post Master General's
department for storage for the duration of the conflict.
Now, 100 years later his being the first Queenslander to
take to the airwaves will be commemorated in an on the air
award program starting this February 7th and ending on
August 6th. Those contacting three Tablelands members on
any High Frequency amateur band will be eligible for a
commemorative certificate. A roster of operators with
operating times and bands will be posted
at www.treclub.org.au before the start of the award period.
(VK4SDD)
**
HAM RADIO IN SPACE: CALL FOR PAPERS FOR 2014 SA AMSAT SPACE
SYMPOSIUM
South Africa AMSAT has announced that its annual Space
Communication Symposium will be held on Saturday May 24.
This at the Innovation Hub in Pretoria.
Proposals for papers to be presented at the gathering are
now solicited. Those interested in taking part are asked to
submit a brief overview of their planned paper by March 15th
to saamsat (at) intekom.co.za.
Authors will be advised of the acceptance of their paper by
March 31st. Final written papers will be required by April
30th and PowerPoint presentations no later than by May 15th
Also please include a short biography and a photograph of
yourself.
Registration for the symposium will open on February 1st.
More information is on the web at www.amsatsa.org.za.
(SARL)
**
ON THE AIR: VK8NSB OFFERS 10 METER SSTV BEACON AWARD
According to VK8NSB his Slow Scan TV Repeater on 28.700 Mhz
transmits a beacon picture every 60 minutes and there are 12
pictures in total. VK8NSB says that he is now offering
those that receive all 12 pictures in full a special award.
Once you have received all 12 pictures please e-mail Stuart
to vk8nsb (at) hotmail (dot) com. Include all 12 pictures
in JPG format and VK8NSB will send you the award via return
e-mail. More information can be obtained on the VK8SNB web
page on QRZ.COM. (WIA News)
**
DX
In DX, word that the only two stations in the South Sudan
are off the air due to the current internal political
strife. These are Z81B and Z81D and indications are that
there will not be any further ham radio signals from that
new nation until conditions stabilize. More on this as
information becomes available.
DX-World.net reports that WA5A will be on the air stroke 5Z4
from Kenya until about January 28th. His operation will be
holiday style on the High Frequency bands. QSL via his home
callsign.
LA7GIA is expected to be active from Malawi as 7Q7GIA for
one week in May or June. QSL's will via his home callsign.
No other information is available at this time.
IK2PZC will be active from Morocco as 5C2P between February
6th and the 9th. His operation will be on the High
Frequency bands using SSB and RTTY. QSL via IK2PZC.
ON7WP stroke C5WP has announced that he and ON7YK stroke
C5YK are or will be the only two permanent licensed hams in
The Gambia for 2014. At least as of now. More information
is at C5CP on QRZ.com
YV5IAL will be active stroke CE2 from Valparaiso, Chile
through January 30th. His operation will be on 40 through
10 meters using PSK-31 with some SSB. QSL via his home
callsign either direct or via the bureau.
Lastly, F6BLP will be operational from Senegal through
January 31st as 6W7SK through January 31st. His location
will be about 80 kilometers south of the city of Dakar.
Activity will be holiday style operating mainly CW on 80
through 10 meters. Some 160 meters is possible. QSL to
F6BLP, either direct or via the bureau.
(Above from various DX news sources)
**
THAT FINAL ITEM: STUDYING HOW A RECHARGEABLE BATTERY WORKS
And finally this week, have you ever wondered what happens
inside a rechargeable battery? If so you are not alone as
we hear from Amateur Radio Newsline's Cheryl Lasek, K9BIK:
--
Scientists are still searching for clues to the processes
that takes place inside rechargeable batteries. This as
part of the ongoing quest to create more powerful, longer-
lasting and cheaper energy storage devices.
Now a team of researchers with the Department of Energy's
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in cooperation with
other research centers have discovered how to unlock some of
the secrets hidden within rechargeable batteries.
So far most of the research into batteries has focused on
studying the electrolyte interphase layer. This is a
coating that accumulates on an electrode's surface and
dramatically influences battery performance. But until
recently the research has been limited because most high-
powered microscope work is done under dry conditions while
most batteries contain liquids. As such the liquid has
slowed the ability to conduct this type of research.
To overcome this, researchers have created a special dry
battery for their tests. The battery contains one dime size
silicon electrode and one lithium electrode sandwiching a
bath of solid electrolyte. This configuration permits the
flow of ions but still allow microscopic study which in turn
has allowed the team to study the electrodes behavior.
The researchers say this new study could be the next step in
the ongoing quest to create longer lasting rechargeable
batteries.
For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Cheryl Lasek, K9BIK, in
Zion, Illinois.
--
The work was published in a recent issue of The Journal Nano
Letters, could eventually lead to better rechargeable
batteries. More is on line at tinyurl.com/new-battery-
research. (MNN)
**
NEWSCAST CLOSE
With thanks to Alan Labs, AMSAT, the ARRL, the CGC
Communicator, CQ Magazine, the FCC, the Ohio Penn DX
Bulletin, Radio Netherlands, Rain, the RSGB, the Southgate
News, TWiT-TV and Australia's WIA News, that's all from the
Amateur Radio NewslineT. Our e-mail address is newsline
(at) arnewsline (dot) org. More information is available at
Amateur Radio Newsline'sT only official website located at
www.arnewsline.org. You can also write to us or support us
at Amateur Radio NewslineT, 28197 Robin Avenue, Santa
Clarita California, 91350
For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editors' desk,
I'm Skeeter Nash, N5ASH, near Houston, Texas saying a very
Happy New Year, 73 and we thank you for listening.
Amateur Radio NewslineT is Copyright 2014. All rights
reserved.